The good news: Xeloda is a pill I take twice a day, so I'm not tied to the chemo chair every week. I'm starting at a reduced dose. We'll see about the side effects. The 21-day cycle is two weeks on the med, one week off.
I'll continue on the same other meds (Avastin, Aromasin and Faslodex). Dr G may add eribulin back in, depending on how well the Xeloda works.
Why no gamma knife? If any of the brain mets begin to bother me and cause symptoms that interfere with daily living, we will look into targeted radiation therapy. But if we used gamma knife now, there might be more damage from radiation scarring than benefit from the therapy. And Xeloda is his "go-to" treatment for brain mets.
I had a realization this afternoon while talking with Dr G. I can keep chugging along, even with new issues coming my way, as long as my quality of life is this good. I can cope with new stuff while living well with cancer. And when that changes, I'll deal with it as it comes along.
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So relieved to hear these results. And I love your last paragraph; I may even cut out and save as it is the essence of us stage 4-er's. I knew the old positive Jill would get her head on straight again and get on with her life!
ReplyDeleteI like your attitude. I've been telling myself the same thing since I saw my liver tests are normal: if my liver can live with these tumours, so can I! Lets live.
ReplyDeleteNot bad results under the circumstances. Thanks for letting us know so quickly. I found I was holding my breath since you mentioned the tests. And fab outlook. I may share that bit too - certainly speaks for many of us. :)
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